NEED TO KNOW
- Miss Universe Group president and proprietor Raul Rocha has spoken out about his intentions for the pageant’s future amid ongoing controversy
- The Mexican businessman acquired the worldwide magnificence pageant in January 2024
- This 12 months’s Miss Universe competitors made international headlines for weeks main as much as the precise occasion, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, on Nov. 21
Miss Universe Group president Raul Rocha has acknowledged that he is seeking to promote his stake after weeks of controversy surrounding the worldwide pageant.
On Monday, Nov. 24, Rocha spoke to Mexican journalist Adela Micha in regards to the competitors, which was held in Bangkok on Nov. 21, and his response to a number of latest allegations of misconduct aimed on the group. At one level in the course of the interview, which was performed in Spanish, Rocha clarified his function because the president and 50 % shareholder of Miss Universe.
He then famous that he’s “in search of somebody to cross it on to,” including, as translated into English, “This is sort of a check, like a relay race. Who do I cross the baton to?”
When Micha requested why he modified his thoughts since buying the pageant in January 2024, Rocha proclaimed, “It is simply that I am so fed up. I am so fed up with all of the speak. I do not lend myself to that form of factor.”
He continued to lament the truth that whereas he is “the proprietor, the proprietor, the president” of the group, “everybody needs to have an opinion” in regards to the enterprise.
“They need to come and inform you what selections you make, the way you make them, why you rent folks, why you’re taking away folks and why you add folks,” stated Rocha.
Rocha didn’t reply to ipromiseyoumedia’s request for remark.
He continued to discuss with Omar Harfouch, the musician who publicly resigned from his place on the choice committee on Nov. 18, simply days earlier than the competitors. Harfouch beforehand alleged that the Miss Universe Group had fashioned an “impromptu jury” to decide on 30 finalists earlier than members from 136 nations even took the stage for the preliminary spherical.
The pageant refuted Harfouch’s claims in a press release posted shortly after his announcement. That very same day, professional soccer participant Claude Makélélé introduced he was additionally withdrawing from his place as a choose, citing private causes. The president of the choice committee, Princess Camilla di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, later resigned as nicely.
Weeks earlier, on Nov. 4, the Miss Universe group made international headlines when a livestream confirmed a heated confrontation between pageant government Nawat Itsaragrisil and Fátima Bosch, who represented Mexico and was in the end topped the pageant’s winner. Rocha promptly introduced a number of sanctions towards Itsaragrisil, together with his restriction from the pageant.
After Harfouch’s bombshell resignation, a Miss Universe contestant — who requested to stay nameless — informed ipromiseyoumedia that rumors of the covert prime 30 choice have been “heartbreaking” to study.
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“So many contestants have sacrificed their private lives, left their jobs, and spent a 12 months making ready for this second. A few of us have fallen sick, been hospitalized, or pushed via exhaustion whereas receiving solely three to 4 hours of sleep every night time,” stated the previous Miss Universe contender forward of the competitors.
“We did this as a result of we believed within the integrity of this group and the mission they informed us they stood for,” she continued, including her gratitude for Harfouch’s willingness to talk out.
